Rockets report: McHale juggles power forwards

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Rockets forward Marcus Morris was the Rockets' second-leading scorer behind James Harden in a 100-94 win against the Charlotte Bobcats. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

With his power forwards struggling, coach Kevin McHale replaced Patrick Patterson with Marcus Morris just 3½ minutes into Monday’s game and then rode a hot hand.

Morris started the second half for a second consecutive game and scored 21 points, one shy of his career high. Patterson played just eight minutes, missing his only three shots.

In five games since returning to the starting lineup, Patterson has averaged four points per game on 8-of-26 (30.8 percent) shooting. McHale said he would like to get more going toward the rim, but his power forwards also need to be more assertive.

“We need to get inside, first of all,” McHale said. “You can’t get touches inside if you’re hanging around at 18 feet. You have to go inside, but you can also offensive rebound. We’ve got to figure out how we can get that spot going again for us.

“Plus, it’s incumbent on you to get going yourself. That’s part of this league. I always said if you’re playing over 25, 26 minutes and not getting much done, sometimes you have to look at yourself. We have to do a better job of helping those guys, but still, if they’re out there, they have to be productive.”

Beverley makes most of chance

Before the Rockets’ road trip, Patrick Beverley had played only a few mop-up minutes. He ended it as the backup point guard, playing the final 15 minutes Monday and making a 3-pointer to put the Rockets in front of the Bobcats with 3:07 left.

“I was just hoping I made it,” Beverley said of being trusted with that shot down the stretch. “I missed a lot before. A lot of teams collapse on James (Harden), because he is an All-Star player, of course. It’s up to everyone to step up and make shots.”

Morris heeds coaches’ advice

Forward Marcus Morris was on the floor for 44 seconds before he scored, with coaches telling him to be more assertive.

In his previous five games, Morris had averaged five points on 9-of-29 shooting. On Monday, he scored 21 points, making seven of 12 shots, and matched his career high with eight rebounds.

“I just played aggressive,” Morris said. “Coaches just told me to be myself, be aggressive. If I’m open, shoot it. Stop with the indecisiveness. I wasn’t really feeling my shot. I was missing. I got comfortable, made some shots.”